American tennis off to a flying start in 2023, Coco Gauff, Sebastian Korda add to United Cup glory
American tennis could not have asked for a better start to 2023, with the likes of Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz and others impressing Down Under.
Team USA won the inaugural edition of the United Cup by beating Italy 4-0 in the final. Jessica Pegula, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz all won their respective singles matches to give their side an insurmountable 3-0 lead, with Madison Keys triumphing in the final match of the tie against Lucia Bronzetti for the perfect victory.
Elsewhere, Coco Gauff won the women's singles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland without dropping a set while Asia Muhammad and Taylor Townsend clinched the women's doubles competition at the Adelaide International 1.
Sebastian Korda produced an impressive performance in the men's singles tournament at the Adelaide International 1 where he finished runner-up.
On that note, let's take a look at some of the best performances from American tennis in the first week of the 2023 season.
Team USA cruise to victory in the inaugural edition of the United Cup
Team USA came into the 2023 United Cup as the heavy favorites to win the tournament. They started with a 4-1 win over the Czech Republic before thrashing Germany 5-0 to book their place in the knockout stages.
They first came up against Team Great Britain and Madison Keys gave them the lead by defeating Katie Swan 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Cameron Norrie drew the Brits level by beating Taylor Fritz 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 before Jessica Pegula thrashed Harriet Dart 6-2, 6-0 to restore the lead for the United States.
Frances Tiafoe then beat Dan Evans 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to book his team's place in the semifinals.
Team USA got off to the best possible start against Poland in the semis, with Pegula beating World No. 1 Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-2. Tiafoe and Fritz beat Kacper Zuk and Hubert Hurkacz to book their side's place in the final where they faced Italy.
World No 3. Pegula gave the United States a flying start by beating Martina Trevisan 6-4, 6-2 before Tiafoe won his match against Lorenzo Musetti after the latter was forced to retire due to a shoulder injury.
The third match of the tie was between Fritz and Matteo Berrettini and the former won a tightly-contested first set via a tiebreak. Both players were solid on their serve in the second set and once again, a tiebreak would determine the outcome.
Fritz won 7-5 to win the United Cup for Team USA.
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Just look at that trophy 🏆🙃🇺🇸
#UnitedCup https://t.co/JCcLES9aqP
Coco Gauff wins third WTA singles title in Auckland
Coco Gauff also got off to an impressive start to the 2023 season as she won the ASB Classic in Auckland. The 18-year-old was seeded first at the WTA 250 tournament and started by beating Tatjana Maria 6-4, 6-1 before defeating Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals.
Here, she beat Zhu Lin 6-3, 6-2 before thrashing Danka Kovinic 6-0, 6-2 to book her place in the final. Coco Gauff faced Linda Noskova in the title clash and thrashed her 6-1, 6-1 to win her third WTA singles title. It was the American's first tournament so far, which she won without dropping a single set.
Coco Gauff will be in good spirits after winning the ASB Classic and is expected to do well at the Australian Open.
Sebastian Korda goes down fighting to Novak Djokovic in Adelaide
Sebastian Korda was unseeded at the Adelaide International 1 and started the tournament by beating Andy Murray 7-6(3), 6-3. He then triumphed 6-4, 6-4 over Roberto Bautista Agut to set up a quarterfinal clash against 5th seed Jannik Sinner.
Korda stunned the Italian 7-5, 6-1 and then beat Yoshihito Nishioka after the Japanese was forced to retire due to an injury. The 22-year-old thus reached his first career final where he was up against Novak Djokovic.
Korda put in a valiant effort against the Serb and took the opening set 7-6(8). He had a championship point in the second set but Djokovic saved it and won the set via a tiebreak to force the match into a decider.
The World No.5 broke Korda in the final game of the third set to win the Adelaide International 1.